One known technique to discourage a dog from barking or from performing another behavior is to outfit the dog with a collar or similar device capable of administering a deterring stimulus when the dog exhibits the undesirable behavior. The device is capable of detecting when the dog is barking or vocalizing by sensing vibrations in the dog's throat. The device then delivers a deterring stimulus to the dog, such as an electric shock, discomforting vibration, a sprayed chemical irritant, or a sound. The deterring stimulus typically lasts as long as the dog barks or vocalizes. When the dog ceases to make sounds, the deterring stimulus stops. In this way, such anti-bark devices purport to do no lasting harm to the dog, and the dog is trained to not bark, thereby avoiding the deterring stimulus.
A similar device is used to train a dog to stay in a particular area. The dog's owner or handler will designate a geographic area within which the animal is to remain. If the dog approaches or crosses the boundary of the geographic area, the device will deliver a deterring stimulus to the dog. Over time, the dog learns to stay within the designated geographic area.
One difficulty in utilizing such devices is the threat of harm to dogs, in the event of an emergency or dangerous situation. For example, a dog trapped in a burning building will bark and attempt to leave its designated geographic area, even if its collar is delivering a deterring stimulus. Thus, a dog may sustain severe injury from prolonged exposure to chemical irritants or from a prolonged electric shock, while performing a behavior that might actually be desirable in the specific exceptional circumstance.
A pet owner or animal trainer can manually disable such anti-bark functions on such devices in certain circumstances. For example, a dog's owner might enable the anti-bark function of the dog's collar at night to prevent the dog from barking while the owner's family is sleeping, but disable the collar during the day when the family is awake and interacting with the dog. However, such manual changes do not provide adequate protection for the dog in emergency situations. By their nature, emergencies (such as a fire, earthquake, or intruder) capture the dog owner's immediate attention and minimize the dog owner's opportunity to disable the anti-bark collar, thereby putting the dog at risk of serious injury or death.
What is needed in the industry is a behavior-deterrent collar, which incorporates a deterrent stimulus that can be disabled in the event of an emergency. An additional benefit would be realized by providing a collar having a means for locating a dog during an emergency event.